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Sarcopenia is recognized as a musculoskeletal disease characterized by low levels of physical function and muscle mass. Despite the interest and clinical recognition of sarcopenia in recent years, epidemiological data on its prevalence in the population on hemodialysis (HD) are scarce. We investigated the prevalence of sarcopenia in southern Brazil.
Cross-sectional and multicenter study in five dialysis units in southern Brazil. Adult patients on HD ≥ 3 months were included. Muscle strength was assessed by handgrip strength and muscle mass by calf circumference. Sarcopenia was defined following the revised European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People algorithm as probable sarcopenia (low muscle strength) and confirmed sarcopenia (low muscle strength + low muscle mass). We compared the prevalence of sarcopenia between genders and younger vs. older people (≥ 60 years old) using the Chi-square test.
191 patients were included (54 ± 16 years, 59% men). The prevalence of probable sarcopenia was 18.3% (n = 35) and of confirmed sarcopenia 11.5% (n = 22). There was no significant difference between gender. Compared to younger patients, older had a higher prevalence of probable sarcopenia (24.4 vs. 11.3%; p = 0.005), but not confirmed sarcopenia (15.5 vs. 8.5%; p = 0.135).
The prevalence of the primary manifestation of sarcopenia - low muscle strength - was the most identified in HD patients in southern Brazil, being higher in the older ones.